Multiple injection and grouting rod assembly



Nov. 17, 1970 M. c. PASCUCCI 3,540,837

MULTIPLE INJECTION AND GROUTING ROD ASSEMBLY Filed Dec. 27, 1968 MICHAELC. PASCUCC/ United States Patent 3,540,837 MULTIPLE INJECTION ANDGROUTING ROD ASSEMBLY Michael C. Pascucci, 151 E. Jericho Turnpike,Mineola, N.Y. 11501 Filed Dec. 27, 1968, Ser. No. 787,514 Int. Cl. A6113/00 US. Cl. 2161 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device forinserting liquids below the surface of the ground. A hollow, horizontalmanifold has attached to it a plurality of vertically depending tines,or probes, having holes near their ends for the passage of the liquid.The tines are aligned in parallel relationship and are inserted into theground by means of a handle attached to the manifold. Valves at each endof the manifold, and in the middle, make it possible to apply differentliquids to each half of the tines, or one liquid to all of the tines.Thus, termite-proofing and waterproofing of the soil about thefoundation of a building can be accomplished simultaneously.

The present invention relates to hand tools and more particularly tohand tools which are used in the treatment of soil and especially thesoil which is located around the foundation of a house or otherstructure.

In the past many devices have been produced having as their generalpurpose the injection of water, or other fluid solution, into the soilby means of jet-like devices. Popular among these prior art devices arethe hand tools which are connected to a garden hose, and having a probe,or vertical tine, which is stuck down into the ground to aerate andwater the roots of shrubbery and trees. Frequently, a bottle orreservoir of liquid fertilizer is attached to the device for feeding theshrubbery while it is being watered.

Another application of these prior art devices is in the treatment ofhouse foundations for the elimination of and protection against,termites and also for waterproofing. In this procedure, a probe, havinga plurality of holes at its lower extremity, is inserted about five orsix feet into the ground near the foundation of the house being treatedand a solution, poisonous to the termites, or effecting thewaterproofing, is pumped through the probe and into the soil. The probeis then withdrawn, moved a few feet, and reinserted until the entirebuilding has been circled. The continual reinsertion of the probe at theintervals indicated is most important to insure that the areas saturatedby the solutions overlap each other to thereby guarantee completeprotection from the termites or complete waterproofing. This is atime-consuming and laborious procedure which often must be repeatedseveral times if the infestation is so advanced as to require theapplication of more than one type insecticide.

Further, in the past the termite-proofing and waterproofing of soilshave been accomplished at different times by different companies. It hasnow been determined that the incidence of termite infestation is highlyrelated to the water passing through a foundation since termites needwater to live. Accordingly, it is essential in treating for termitecontrol that waterproofing be conducted simultaneously The presentinvention offers considerable improvement over the prior art devices andmethods by overcoming the disadvantages and undesirable featuresinherent in their structure and method of operation. For example, theinvention discloses a hand tool having a plurality of probes rather thana single one, each of the probes being 3,540,837 Patented Nov. 17, 1970spaced the proper distance from its neighbor to insure saturation of thesoil between them. In this way an operator of the device has to make farfewer insertions in the ground to cover an entire foundation, andtherefore the invention is far less time consuming to accomplish thesame results as obtained by prior art devices. The invention has thefurther advantage of providing for the simultaneous application of morethan one solution, if desired, such as termite-proofing andwaterproofing solutions, by the manipulation of the valves located onthe manifold. By closing the middle valve and opening the two end valvesit is possible to dispense a different fluid through each pair of probessimultaneously. In the alternative, if the middle valve is opened andone of the end valves closed, then all four probes will dispense thesame fluid.

An object of the invention is the provision of a hand tool for treatingsoil.

Another object is the provision of a hand tool having a plurality ofprobes for insertion in the soil.

Still another object is the provision of a hand tool which cansimultaneously inject more than one kind of fluid.

Yet another object is the provision of a hand tool which is capable ofdispensing one fluid through half of its probes and another fluidthrough the other half of its probes, or if desired, one fluid throughall of its probes.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method ofsimultaneously termite-proofing and waterproofing the soil surroundingthe foundation of a buliding.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the invention willbe readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which like referencenumerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof andwherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the invention;

FIG, 2 is a plan view of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a view of the invention showing it attached to a cart carryingthe fluids to be dispensed.

Referring now to the drawings there can be seen in FIG. 1 a sideelevational view of the structure embodying the inventive concept. Thereis a hollow, horizontally extending manifold 10 which may be of anydesired diameter and length to stay within the realm of portability.Suggested dimensions would be for manifold 10 to be in the neighborhoodof .24 inches long and of 1% inch diameter pipe, but these dimensionsare by no means limitations.

Positioned equidistantly along the length of manifold 10 and extendingat right angles to it there are a plurality of hollow probes 11, shownhere as four in number although there may be any number without changingthe concept of the invention. Probes 11 may be of any convenient length,but are shown here to be in the neighborhood of five feet and to be madeof inch diameter pipe. Probes 11 are joined to manifold 10' by welding,threading, or the like, so that any fluid passing through the hollowmanifold will likewise flow through the probes, and out through holes 12which are located near the ends of the probes. It will be noted thatholes 12 are drilled through probes 11 in at least two directions,thereby producing at least four apertures for the emission of the fluid.The lowermost ends of the probes are fashioned into a point 13 tofacilitate their insertion into the ground.

In order to add strength and stability to the device there is provided ametallic webbing 14 which is attached by any convenient means to theunderside of manifold 10 and extending vertically a short distance downthe sides and 3 between the individual probes 11. Webbing 14 is usuallyof sheet metal and of suflicient gauge to give structural strength tothe probes. Atop manifold and extending along most of its length thereis another structural plate 15 having a horizonal section 16 whichserves as a handle.

At the right end of manifold 10 there has been inserted a threadednipple 17, one end of which fits into the manifold 10 and the other endof which is threaded at 18 to receive a supply hose 20. Also positionedat the right end of manifold 10 and at the inner end of nipple 17 thereis an Off-On valve 21 which may be of any desired design for turning onand off the fluid flowing through supply hose and into the right end ofthe manifold.

The left end of manifold 10 has an arrangement similar to that on theright end; namely, a threaded nipple 22 which fits the manifold, athreaded portion 20 of the nipple for receiving a second supply hose 24,and another Off-On valve 25 for controlling the flow of fluid throughsupply hose 24 into the left end of the manifold.

Midway along the length of manifold 10 there is positioned a third valve26 which controls fluid flow between the two halves of the manifold.Thus, in its closed position valve 26 separates the two halves of themanifold so that one fluid flows through the other two probes. In itsopen position, one fluid can flow through all four probes.

Turning to FIG. 4 there can be seen an overall view of the entireequipment. Fluid is supplied from a wheeled tank, or cart 27 having twocompartments 28 and 30', with supply hoses 20 and 24 attached thereto. Acompressor 31, which may be either gasoline or electric motor driven, ismounted on top of the cart 27 to force the flow of the fluids fromcompartments 28 and 30 to probes 11.

From a perusal of the structure described it is clear that the operationof the invention provides for grasping the handle 16 and forcing theprobes 11 into the ground near a foundation, which is being treated fortermites and/or waterproofing, for example. When compressor 31 isstarted it forces the fluid stored in compartments 28 and 30, outthrough hoses 20 and 24 and into the two ends of manifold 10. If it isdesirable to have both fluids applied simultaneously to the foundation,then end valves 21 and 25 are both opened, but valve 26 is kept in itsclosed position. In this situation, fluid from hose 20 is ejected by thetwo right hand probes 11 while fluid from hose 24 is ejected by the twoleft hand probes. Should it be more desirable to have the same fluidejected by all four probes then either valve 21 or valve 25 is closedand valve 26 is put in its open position.

From the above description of the structure and operation of theinvention, it is clear that the device offers many improvements overprior art grouting assemblies in that there is disclosed an easilyportable, easily manage able grouting assembly which can quickly treat abuilding foundation through the use of multiple probes, and one whichmay also be used to simultaneously apply more than one fluid.

Thus, if the solution in compartment 28 is a termite proofing solutionand the solution in compartment 30 is a waterproofing solution, byopening both end valves :51 and 25 and closing valve 26, thetermite-proofing sol u tion can be ejected through hose 20 through thetwo right hand probes 11 while the waterproofing solution can besimultaneously ejected through the hose 24 through the two left handprobes.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood, that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is: 1. A grouting assembly for treating soil comprising:a tank having a plurality of compartments for holding more than onefluid to be inserted into the soil;

hose means comprising at least two hoses, one of said hoses beingconnected to one of said compartments and another of said hoses beingconnected to another of said compartments;

a manifold connected to said hose means, said one hose being connectedat one end of the manifold and said another hose being connected at theopposite end of the manifold;

a plurality of probes attached to the manifold and braced in spacedrelation along the length thereof, said probes being pointed for easyinsertion into the soil and having a plurality of holes near the lowerends thereof for the ejection of fluid, and said manifold having handlemeans thereon for manually urging the probes into the soil; and

valves in an intermediate position and at each of said ends of themanifold for controlling the flow of fluid through the probes, saidvalve in the intermediate position of the manifold having at least oneprobe on each side thereof, whereby a plurality of different fluids fromthe tank are insertable simultaneously into the soil.

2. The device of claim 1 further including a compressor on the tank toforce the fluid through the hoses, manifold and probes.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 151,304 5/1874 McGehee 21-922,071,758 2/1937 McKay 6136 XR 2,177,792 10/ 1939 Taylor 21-61 XR2,560,619 7/1951 Wertz 6l36 2,906,056 9/1959 Youngblood 43-124 3,094,8466/1963 Peeler 61-36 3,243,962 4/1966 Ratliif 61-36 FOREIGN PATENTS415,326 8/1934 Great Britain.

416,391 9/ 1934 Great Britain.

472,715 8/ 1914 France.

MORRIS O. WOLK, Primary Examiner J. T. ZATARGA, Assistant Examiner US.or. X.R. g1-2; 43-124; 14 53

